Food -The Connection with Time and History
Food, the connection with time and history.
I kneel on the chair to gain a better view of my mother’s hands.
Spoons full of flour, egg yolks the color of the sun at dusk, a pinch of salt
All fall into the earthenware bowl.
Deft hands move quickly, rhythmically.
There are no cups, no measurements, no written instructions,
simply time and memory.
The lore of creating pasta passed down from one generation to the next.
In watching my mother’s hands,
I see the hands of her mother, and the mother before,
and so on, and so on.
I am seeing history. Our history.
Food has a story to tell.
Food not only feeds are bodies, it nourishes our souls; it captures memories and moments; it stores centuries of history. My new book “Past & Present: History of the Foods We Eat, Recipes Inspired by the Stories” brings dozens of those stories to light. History buffs will enjoy the legends, cooks will appreciate the recipes that will create new memories.
There is so much beauty in this world--beauty in peace, love, and (sometimes) sadness. I hope to find the words to share this with all of you.
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Linda, it is so nice to see you back here and with a great poem. This is so nostalgic, I can see myself watching my mother when she made her famous noodles. Oh my gosh! I love homemade pasta. Thank you for writing this. Food definitely has family history. Great work, well done.
Thank you. Still a draft–a work in progress. I thought it might be an intro to the book I have published. Looking for a photo (or illustration) that I could use with it. Thank you for your words of encouragement.
You might try Pixabay for a photo to use. There are some good ones under “floured hands”. I looked under mixing bowl for the one I found for your post.
This was beautiful to read, Linda. Many things including recipes are passed down through the generations by watching and learning, and never being written down. Great job.
Just found this! Bit late getting to it but never mind!
I love the history angle you take, the nostalgia as well as the dexterity and experience; it all blends to make a beautiful free verse.
I didn’t realise you wrote poetry too, so I’m glad I stumbled upon this.
Ann